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| A teen beneficiary of SOS programs playing basketball. Photo by Christian Lesske |
February 28, 2011: With southern
Sudan poised to become an independent nation in July, the region’s young people are happy to turn away from war and toward rekindling more pleasurable activities like basketball.
Sixteen-year-old Mangistu Deng, recently profiled in The New York Times, is one such teen. But he is sharpening his basketball skills for more than just fun. For poor youths like him, basketball can be a way out of poverty.
It certainly was for fellow Sudanese Manute Bol, once a cattle herder in southern Sudan who in 1985 became the second Africa-born player to join the National Basketball Association. Prowess on the courts was also a ticket to success in the United States for Sudan-born, 25-year-old Chicago Bulls luminary Luol Deng (no relation to Mangistu).
“We are very much in tune with what’s going on in southern Sudan,” Amadou Fall, vice president for development with the NBA Africa told The New York Times. “Southern Sudan does have an abundance of tall, well-talented players. We have to pay attention.”
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| Map of SOS in Sudan |
Deng lives in Sudan’s southern capital, Juba. He represents a new generation of fresh basketball prospects among the southern Sudanese.
“I was born in war,” he said. “So, I thought, when I grow up, I will be a soldier. But then basketball just came.” Deng added that he wants “to show my country I can do something.”
SOS in Sudan Helping Youth Pave Way to a Brighter Future
SOS Children’s Villages, in Sudan for 33 years, cannot provide basketball contracts to youths looking for a better life. Very, very few Sudanese teenagers will have the talent to be scooped up by the NBA.
What SOS does do for young people without a future is give them the means to “do something,” as Deng said. SOS provides a warm home, support, education, and job skills training. Southern Sudanese teens like Mangistu Deng yearn for the chance to make something of themselves.
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| Three SOS boys in Sudan. Photo by Rafif Ben Messalem |
Support Youths Who Won’t Become Sports Stars But Deserve a Life Chance
Become an SOS Global Village Builder and you can provide supportive environments for young people like Mangistu Deng. Your monthly support builds homes and loving families for orphaned and abandoned children for as little as $12 per month.
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